USA: new NBA media rights deal includes jersey sponsorship revenue for TV partners

The NBA's (National Basketball Association, USA-CAN) new media rights deal with the pay-TV channels ESPN, part of the Disney group, and Turner, part of the Time Warner group, includes the possibility of the league's TV partners receiving a portion of the revenues from any future jersey sponsorship of the teams, according to a report from the American media outlet Sports Business Journal on 13/10/2014.

The report states that the TV groups pushed to have more rights to any future jersey sponsorship included the new audiovisual contracts, but the NBA insisted on keeping sponsorship rights in the hands of the teams. Instead, the TV groups would receive a small percentage of any sponsorships with a national company, however teams that select a regional company would keep all of the sponsorship revenue.

Advertisements on jerseys are "viable" and "inevitable" (A. Silver, NBA commisioner)

• League commisioner Adam Silver has called jersey sponsorship in the NBA "viable" and "inevitable" on 20/03/2014, stating: "it is so commonplace for soccer clubs around the world and basketball clubs as…